


Accepting the Offer

by DominicKnight



Series: Before the Faro Plague [2]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: before the end of the world, character exploration, pre-Zero Dawn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 14:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11404431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DominicKnight/pseuds/DominicKnight
Summary: How do you decide which offer to take when companies are throwing their research money at you?





	1. Be Careful

**Author's Note:**

> This is an exploration of Samina and Elisabet's friendship, but also the events of Elisabet's life at FAS before Miriam Technologies. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Elisabet turned the business card over in her fingers. She sorted the stack she collected at the conference into three piles. The first pile was companies she had no intention of calling either because of their mission or their products. Her second pile had a few cards she might give a second chance. The third pile was the companies she wanted to call. Those CEOs and head scientists sought her out to encourage her to take a position within their company.

Two cards sat in the third pile.

The first card came from a government scientist. He wanted her to join him at a Federal research facility. Although she had passed on the other companies with military contracts, this particular research facility interested her because it had more to do with the environment and conservation.

The second card was slipped into her hand by the CEO of Faro Automated Solutions – FAS. Ted Faro wanted her to come work for him in the private sector. He handed her his card, and Elisabet felt like her heart stopped. Working for a company like FAS meant deep pockets for research and unlimited potential for her inventions.

Elisabet went to visit Samina at the Smithsonian shortly after the conference. She toured as many of the museums as she could during the work day. That first night they sat on Samina’s couch with mugs of tea as they flipped through the cards of Elisabet’s prospects. They spoke about each company, what they knew about them, and Samina’s professional opinion on each. Elisabet soaked up the information and made notes on the back of each card that she wanted to do further research on.

“I cannot believe Faro showed his face to hand you his card. You should shred it,” Samina said as she held the card.

Elisabet frowned. “What’s wrong with FAS?”

“Faro is what is wrong with FAS. His massive ego is more dangerous than anything they could build.” Samina sipped her tea.

“The funding would be incredible there.” Elisabet set her mug down and picked up the card for FAS.

“You can go there if you’d like. I’ll support you in what you choose. But be careful.” Samina set down her mug and took both of Elisabet’s hands in her own. “Be smarter than Faro. Keep your important ideas to yourself.”

Elisabet nodded. “I can do that.”

A week since that visit, Elisabet knew she needed to make some phone calls. Or a single phone call. She spoke briefly with her parents about the prospects but otherwise hadn’t shared much on her thoughts of where she wanted to go.

Elisabet picked up the phone and Faro’s card. She dialed the number and after the second ring, a woman’s voice answered claiming to be the secretary.

“I’d like to talk to Mr. Faro. Tell him it’s Dr. Elisabet Sobeck.” Elisabet smirked at the use of her title. Samina encouraged her to use her title whenever possible because she worked hard for it, she should be proud of saying it to anyone and everyone.

After a moment on hold, Faro’s voice came over the line.

“Dr. Sobeck. A pleasure to hear from you.”

“Mr. Faro—“ Elisabet started.

“Please call me Ted. Mr. Faro is my father.”

Elisabet paused. “Ted. I’m interested in following up with you on your offer for a position at FAS.”

“That’s wonderful! We’d love to welcome you to our R & D department. You could come by the facility and see what it’s like, see if you like it. But I have a good feeling you’ll like it here.”

Elisabet could hear the smile in his voice. “Thank you, Ted. I’d love to come for a tour, and see if FAS is the right fit.”

“I’ll have my secretary make the arrangements and be in touch with you soon,” Ted said. “You won’t regret picking FAS over every other offer you probably got.”

“Thank you, Ted. I’ll speak to you soon.” Elisabet hung up. She sat back in her desk chair in her home office. Elisabet snagged her phone off the desk and sent a quick message to Samina.

 **Elisabet:** _I called Faro. He seemed ecstatic. We’ll see what his offer is._

 **Samina:** _Be careful. And I support you if this is the route you take._


	2. The City that Ted Built

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elisabet goes to see what FAS and Ted are all about.

Elisabet stepped off the private jet onto the tarmac. A single limo sat with the driver standing outside. He held a small sign with her name on it – like there would be anyone else he was waiting for. She was the only passenger on the plane. Her inbox had an email from Ted’s secretary with her itinerary, all travel arrangements handled by Ted within hours of hanging up from their phone conversation. She told Samina about everything being handled and her friend’s immediate text response was “He’s trying so hard to impress you, throwing money around like it's pocket change.” It made Elisabet laugh. 

One of the attendants followed her down the stairs and handed off her bag to the driver. The man accepted the bag and set it down so he could open the backseat door for her. 

“Welcome, Dr. Sobeck. Mr. Faro is expecting you soon at the facility.” He helped Elisabet into the car and shut the door behind her before she could respond. 

Elisabet glanced around the limo as she felt them start to drive away from the private airstrip. She looked out the window as they headed towards a group of large buildings in the distance. Elisabet could only assume they were FAS. From her research, she learned that I was a massive facility that rivaled a small city. She tried to think of other organizations like FAS that could compare, and only came up with a few military bases, and maybe NASA. 

They passed through a massive stone archway with a gate and a guard. The grounds opened up to not only a considerable amount of green space but three large buildings with huge glass fronts that faced a large courtyard that the driver pulled into. He stopped at the center of the buildings where Elisabet could see Faro waiting for her outside. A woman who Elisabet could assume was his secretary stood a few paces behind him. 

The driver opened the door and Elisabet stepped out to Ted grinning at her. 

“Dr. Sobeck. It’s a pleasure to have you here. Welcome to Faro Automated Solutions.” Ted gestured around them with his arms out wide. 

Elisabet glanced around. She couldn’t see inside through the windows – the one-way glass was probably a useful feature – but sensed that she was being watched from all angles. 

“Thank you, Ted. I’m excited to tour the facility,” she said. They shook hands, smiles on both of their faces. 

“Let’s get started then. The driver will take your things to where you’re staying – one of the guest rooms at Thebes,” he said. He led Elisabet up the steps past his secretary so that they were at the top. “This is the center court.” Ted turned and pointed at the courtyard and the two other buildings. “On your right is marketing, sales, all that businessy stuff. You know, the money people.” He waved off that building. “And the left is R & D. Behind it is all the warehouses where we build, test, and manufacture everything.”

Ted turned and led Elisabet into the building behind them. 

Elisabet stared off at the R & D facility. She wondered if the scientists were behind those glass windows watching her, perhaps prepared to present her with their current projects. Ted probably told everyone they needed to impress her so she would join them. 

They ended up in Ted’s office after he rambled about this building, and asked her how her flight was. 

Elisabet got the sense that this building had little else but Ted’s office. And judging by the size of the space, she was right. 

Ted sat them by the windows in a lounge set that sat in the corner. 

She sat across from Ted and accepted the coffee his secretary brought her. 

“I’m excited for you to be here, and so is everyone in R & D. After your presentation at the conference, I knew FAS would be the right fit for you.” Ted sipped his drink and set the cup on the coffee table at his right. 

“Thank you. I’m excited to see what FAS has to offer. So far this is quite the experience.” She glanced away from the wall of windows and around his office at all of the dark wood and muted colors. “I don’t remember seeing you at the conference.” 

“I tend to bounce around. You were the youngest person presenting, and in the main hall too, so I had to check out your presentation. I’m impressed by everything you’ve accomplished so far, Dr. Sobeck.” Ted sat back in his seat and pushed his fingers together in an almost triangular pyramid shape. 

“Oh. Thank you. It’s what I like, so really it doesn’t feel like work.” 

“Minds like yours are what I want at FAS to utilize. We push the boundaries of innovation beyond our competitors.” Ted continued to talk about the company and what he saw for FAS’ future.

Elisabet listened, nodding in agreement with his vision for how FAS could improve the world. 

“I’m probably boring you. Let’s get to R & D. We’ve set up a presentation for you to see what we’re working on. Maybe something will interest you.” Ted smirked at her and pushed himself up from his seat. 

“You’ve built an impressive place, Ted. I’m surprised there isn’t more development in this valley.” 

“I own the whole valley. I didn’t want my people to be distracted. So we’re a private city. Neat, huh?” Ted grinned as the doors to the R & D building slid open automatically. 

Elisabet blinked as she tried to think where all of these people lived – the city that Ted built. It had to have homes, a grocery store, a coffee shop, amenities that kept them all here. All of that was somewhere; she couldn’t remember seeing any of it on the drive in other than a beautiful expanse of the valley. 

They were greeted by a group of scientists, all who appeared eager to meet her. 

Elisabet shook hands with them, working on committing faces to names and titles. She was led through the tour with Ted close at her side. At the back of the building, they stepped through another set of doors that opened up to row after row of what Elisabet could see as warehouses that stretched on as far as she could tell. 

Ted led Elisabet back to the front of the warehouse where they were picked up in a fancy golf cart and driven to the center court. A limo with the same driver sat exactly where they had left them. 

“I can imagine you’re tired after the flight and the tour. You can head back to your room and process this. We’ll chat more at dinner.” Ted gestured to the car. 

Elisabet didn’t like the idea of being told what to do. Granted, that was the vast majority of this trip. Everything she had to do was planned for her by Ted or his secretary. 

“Thank you. I’ll see you at dinner,” she said. Elisabet held out her hand to Ted.

Ted shook her head. “Come with all your questions. I’m all ears to answer.” 

Elisabet slid into the car and let herself be driven to wherever Ted lived. She kept her eyes trained out the windows hoping to figure out where all these people called home. Wherever it was, it was someplace in the valley that she couldn’t see. Large pines started to sprout up, and soon they were on a winding road that Elisabet determined was the mountains. The drive felt long when the car seemed to slow. Elisabet noticed that they pulled up to a mansion built into the side of the mountain. She noticed the windows gleaming with the colors from the sunset. 

“Welcome to Thebes,” the driver said when he opened the door.

Elisabet was led to her room where she sat down on the king size bed and dug her phone out of her pocket. 

Elisabet: This place is massive. He calls his home Thebes.

Samina: Faro living in his gilded pyramid. Surprise, surprise.

Elisabet: They really want me here.

Samina: For good reason. He knows you’re a hot commodity in the science world. 

Elisabet: We’ll see what his offer is. Probably getting that at dinner.

Samina: Make sure you get it in writing so you get the money you deserve. 

Elisabet: I will. 

Dinner was in a large room – Elisabet wondered if Ted was compensating for something or if he was claustrophobic in average designed buildings – where they sat across adjacent to each other at a table. Elisabet was relieved they didn’t sit opposite each other given the length of the table between them. 

“So, fire away with your questions.” Ted sipped his red wine and sat back after he finished his meal. 

“Why do you want me to work for FAS?” Elisabet set her fork down and sat back. She did not touch her wine and settled in for his answer. 

Ted laughed. “You don’t pull your punches.” He wiped his hands on his pants and straightened himself in his seat. Ted leveled his gaze on Elisabet. “You’re a smart kid. Top of your classes since you were small. You’re twenty and you have your Ph.D. You’re meant for greatness, Elisabet. And I want that greatness working for me.” 

Elisabet raised her eyebrows. She didn’t expect him to know so much about her. Then again, her life had been briefly in the public eye when she first enrolled at Stanford at thirteen. 

“I couldn’t possibly make your company better than what you already have.” Elisabet watched Ted. 

“If anyone has the possibility to change the world, it’s you.”

They held eye contact for a long, quiet moment. 

“Those other companies won’t be able to get you what you want. They don’t have the facilities I do. And they certainly don’t have the money.” Ted stared at her. “You know I’m right. You don’t even have to write me a budget. If you want something, the money people will get it.” 

“Ted. Money can’t change everything.” Elisabet frowned. She knew he was right about the funding for research and development. At any other organization, she wouldn’t have access to nearly unlimited resources. 

“It can’t change everything, but it can help effect change.” Ted downed the rest of his wine. “What do you want to do in your life, Elisabet?” 

Elisabet thought back to that moment when she was six with the birds and her mother. She looked to him.

“Change the world. Even a little bit.” 

“And that’s what I want to do with FAS.” Ted smiled. “I want to offer you a position at FAS. To start you’d be a Junior Scientist and Engineer until you were comfortable with how things work here. You’d have your own lab and projects to work on, and you’d consult on some tasks here and there.” 

She nodded slightly at the offer. “Could I see what that would look like in writing?”

Ted grinned. “Of course.” He waved his hand and Elisabet’s watch buzzed. She glanced down and noticed an email from Ted. “Everything you want to know is there for you to look over. You can have as long as you need to process this and make a decision.” 

Elisabet nodded. “Thank you.” She stood from the table and shook Ted’s hand before heading back towards her guest room.


	3. Lab Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when you're the new person at work and suddenly you're promoted?

Elisabet doodled in her sketchbook. She mulled over the problem in her code and the project she should be working on for Ted. He hand picked her to join FAS and sought her out through any means. The last thing he probably wanted was her day dreaming and brainstorming her own solutions to the world’s problems.

The array on the page looked like a flower. She made notes by each petal next to the symbols she drew. A knock on the door to her office made Elisabet look up.

Ted stood in her doorway.

“Wanted to see how you like the space.” He approached her desk.

“Oh yes, thank you.” Elisabet shut the sketchbook as she stood. “I think the others are jealous of my windows.” She turned and gestured to the wall to her left.

“If they were half as productive as you, then maybe they would move up sooner.” Ted stopped before her desk. He put his hands on his hips as they both stared out the window.

Elisabet nodded to him. She wished he didn’t come to check on her. She made sure his projects were successful and garnered praise she did not want. He showered her with this new office, which made the other junior scientists jealous. This didn’t help her inability to fit into the new work environment at FAS.

“I should get back to work. Thank you for coming by.” Elisabet gestured to the bank of screens on her desk.

“Keep up the good work.” Ted knocked on her desk and left.

Elisabet sank into her desk chair and flipped open the sketchbook. She examined the flower petal and her vague notes before she closed the book and slid it into the pocket of the messenger bag on the corner of her desk. The last thing she wanted was her designs and ideas falling into his hands.

Samina wasn’t happy when Elisabet told her that she was accepting the offer. Elisabet only knew that from the twinge of disappointment in her voice during their phone call. Of course, Samina wasn’t going to admit her dislike over the phone. The next time they got together before Elisabet was set to move, Samina ranted for almost fifteen minutes about Ted and FAS. Elisabet was impressed that Samina had that much to say about him.

Elisabet turned back to the schematics before her on the screens and holo-projections. The head scientist sent her the designs of every project happening at FAS in order to help Elisabet catch up. Ted’s promotion came when Elisabet commented on a flaw she found. Right in front of Ted. Every scientist – department heads and juniors – turned to look at the new voice to find out who dared to even speak up. Her voice wavered for a second before she cleared her throat and continued. Ted nodded and had the computer pull up a projection of their current design followed by the changes that Elisabet suggested in a secondary. The computer analysis proved Elisabet’s suggestion was not only sound but more effective at accomplishing the restoration task at hand.

An hour later Ted had her pack up her cubicle and put her in an office. Her name was already next to the door.

Elisabet wondered if he knew that would happen. She tried not to notice the stares as she walked to the office space when Ted led her there. He was right when he said all eyes would be on her. Elisabet stopped caring if people liked her a long time ago. Her mom said that people didn’t appreciate to be told they're wrong, but that that shouldn’t stop her from doing so.

She sat back in her chair and dug her phone out.

 **Elisabet:** _I have an office now._

**Samina:** _I thought you had one already. What did you have before?_

**Elisabet:** _A cubicle with the other Junior scientists. We had a whole work area to ourselves. It was nice._

**Samina:** _Nice? Working in a cramped area with other people is just ‘nice?’_

**Elisabet:** _I didn’t ask for him to give me an office._

**Samina:** _He really wants to keep you there. If you’re a junior scientist and engineer now, what will you be next week? Department Head?_

**Elisabet:** _Only time, and Ted, will tell._

Elisabet put her phone away and returned to flipping through the design layers on the projections. She added her notes and fired away questions that the project leads could answer. Their responses were prompt, and if she made a suggestion they would take it into consideration. She wondered if their “consideration” meant that it would immediately be inserted because Elisabet already proved her knowledge.

Or perhaps it was because Ted demanded it.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that finding the flaws and improving the current projects was a large reason Ted worked so hard to get her there. Elisabet’s other thought on his motivation was that he wanted her to be his Head Scientist and Engineer, but couldn’t replace his current one until Elisabet had been in the environment for a time. She liked the second option better, but her intuition told her Ted wasn’t always that kind. He _was_ that sly though.

“Friday?” Elisabet pulled open another schematic.

“Yes, Dr. Sobeck?” The smooth voice of her personal AI came from speakers hidden in the room.

“Block my schedule off for today that I’m in the lab and busy.” Elisabet _did_ appreciate the office because she could use Friday to her full potential.

“Of course. Would you like me to order dinner to your residence as well?” Friday was a small blue orb in the corner of Elisabet’s screen.

“Yes. Surprise me?”

“I will have your food delivered promptly at 7 PM, and set a reminder for you thirty minutes before it’s arrival to ensure you get home in time. Will there be anything else?”

“Nope. Thank you, Friday.” Elisabet gathered her bag, jacket, and other supplies she’d need and headed for her lab space. The other junior scientists and engineers looked over as she passed the area where her old cubicle sat in their cluster. She smiled at them and pushed through the doors to the staircase the closest to her lab.

Her space had a variety of robotic parts strewn about the work benches. One of the small cranes held he engine she spent the last few days pouring over. She hung up her bag and jacket before pressing a button on her watch.

“Friday, pull up the schematics from my office over here, please.”

“Of course.” The projections and screens illuminated with all the necessary information Elisabet needed. Orchestra music started to play. “Will that be all?”

Elisabet smiled at the addition of the music. This AI knew her well. “Thank you, Friday.” She disappeared to change into some coveralls. Elisabet returned, rolling up her sleeves, and walked around the machine’s engine to see where she left off.

Working on the robots and getting her hands dirty was what she missed after so long in offices and libraries. It felt good to get back to what she loved.


End file.
